Adjustable side bar for posting trays



Jan. 13, 1953 o. F. EDEBORG ADJUSTABLE SIDE BAR FOR POSTING TRAYSOriginal Filed May 7, 1949 hlll.

'l M- I i Juli fi g3 "77 MI INVENTOR.

W Czh orneys.

Patented Jan. 13, 1953 Oscar E. Edeborg, .lamestown, N. Y., assignor toArt-MetalQonstruction Company, J amestown,

Qr sin l 92,052..

application; May 7,. 1949, Serial No. Divided. and this applicationDecember 9,1955,SeriaIINQZQION'ZO 1 Claim; 1:

This invention relates to improvements in posting trays or receptaclesofthe type employed vitie a es t ne r w iner i o of e having means ofimproved construction for ads justing the, same relatively to theposting tray to enable cards or other media which are being posted tobeoffset or shifted laterally with reference tozthe main body' or: mass ofmedia. supportedpnthe tray, or to enable the. tray toaccommodatearticles of various widths.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription of one embodiment of the invention, and the novel featureswill be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with theappended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a posting tray embodying thisinvention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation thereof, showing the siderails or ofiset bars in their laterally extended positions.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view, on line 44, Fig. 1.

The posting tray comprises a base portion on which the various parts ofthe device are mounted. The base portion may be of any suitable ordesired form and, in the construction illustrated, comprises end walls 8and side walls 9, and a horizontal portion or top plate II] for thesheets, cards or other articles, and which is provided in thelongitudinal, central part thereof with a channel or U-shaped part II.Preferably, the base is formed of a single piece of material bent toform the channel H, the top plate l and the side and end walls.

The posting tray is provided with one or more of the usual followerplates or panels l5, two being shown in the construction illustrated,between which the ledger leaves, sheets, cards or other articles may bepositioned, and these follower plates are hinged to support the articlesin various inclined positions to facilitate access to the same. Thesefollower plates may be adjustably mounted on the base in any suitableand desired manner and may be mounted to swing into inclined positionsin any suitable manner (not shown) for example as shown in saidapplication No. 92,052.

The base of the posting tray is provided at opposite sides thereof withside rails or offsetbars which engage the side. edges of the, cards orother articles which may be supported on the posting tray, and since itis desired to shift individual articles sidewise with relation to themain body of articles, it is desirable to havethe side bars adjustabletowardand from each other to varythe distances betweenthem. In theconstruction shown for this purpose; the side bars are connected attheir ends; to depending arms or angle members 55 and to the middlepositions of the side or offset bars 55' to be secured to otherdependingarmsor angle members 51-. The lower or horizontal legs of theangle-shaped arms or members 55 extend through slots inthesidewalls 9 ofthe base and consequently may move in or out through these slots whenthe sides of offset bars 55 are moved toward and from each other.

Means are also preferably provided for releasably locking the side oroffset bars 55 in the positions into which they are set, and for thispurpose the lower legs or horizontal portions 59 of the middle,angle-shaped members 51 are provided with a series of holes orindentations 60 therein into which a spring pressed ball or detent 5|may partly enter. This ball for each angle member 51 may be arranged inthe upper portion of a cup 62 containing a spring or other resilientmember for urging the ball 6| upwardly against the under surface of thearm 59.

'The lower or horizontal arms 59 of the angle members 51 are preferablyguided for movement relatively to the base of the posting tray by meansof transversely extending, channel-shaped guide members '64, the ends ofwhich may be secured to the under surface of the top plate ll] of thebase. The channels of the guide members are of such width as to guidethe arms 59 in their movement transversely of the base. Each of thechannels 64 may be provided adjacent the side walls 9 with aperturesthrough which the cups 62 may extend, the cups being provided at theirupper portions with outwardly extending flanges 65 which limit thedownward movement of the cups 62 in the holes in the channels and thussupport the balls or detents 5| in operative relation to the arms 59.

In order to limit the extents to which the side or offset bars 55 may bemoved from the base of the posting tray, the inner ends of the arms 59are preferably provided with downwardly bent portions or flanges 61, andthe channels 54 are provided with apertures in the sides thereof throughwhich stop pins 69 may be inserted and with which the turned-over endsor flanges 61 will engage when the arms 59 have been drawn outwardlyfrom the sides of the base to the limit of their movement, as clearlyshown in Fig. 3. The engagement of the arms 59 within the channels 64tends to hold the side or offset bars 55 in positions parallel with thesides 9 of the base Fig. 3 shows the side or offset bars 55 in theiroutermost positions, and the broken lines in Fig. 3 show one of the armsin its innermost justed positions by means of the balls 6| engaging inthe holes or recesses 60 of the arm 55. The

posting tray described is very efiicient and reliable in operation andreadily adjustable. The construction described lends itself readily toquantity production and is free from complicated parts.

It will be understood that various changes in the details andarrangements of parts, which have been herein-described and illustratedin order to explain the nature be made by those skilled in the artwithin the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in theappended claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a posting tray including a base and side bars extending above thebase at the sides thereof and adjustable toward and from the sides ofthe base, that improvement which includes a plurality of angle-shapedsupports having upwardly of the invention, may 7 of its side bar, achannel-shaped member having.

side flanges secured to said base and forming with said base a space forguiding the laterally extending arm of said last mentioned support forlateral movement relatively to said base; recesses arranged at intervalslengthwise of said laterally extending arm of said last mentionedsupport. and a detent secured on said channel member and yieldinglypressed into engagement with said recesses to yieldingly oppose movementof said central support, the other supports being'slidable freelytransversely of said base, said laterally extending arm of said lastmentioned support having the end thereof within said channel member bentover to form a flange extending transversely of said channel, saidchannel having holes in said side flanges, and a stop pin extendingtransversely of said channel through said holes in position to beengaged by said flange when said laterally extending arm has been pulledout of said channel to the desired limit.

OSCAR F. EDEBORG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Bruen Sept. 19, 1950

